Long Nights
by Rainbow.Fright
Summary: Steve/Reader oneshot in which Steve meets the reader and starts to worry about the way that the dark circles under their eyes just keep on getting darker.


"So when'd you get here?"

You turned around where you were standing at the counter, a newly full mug of coffee in your hand, to see someone you recognized instantly as Captain Steve Rogers. SHIELD had you staying temporarily in Stark Tower while you worked on an assignment in the area, someone having called in a favor with Tony Stark himself. You'd mostly kept to yourself while you were here, spending most of your time in the lab with occasional trips to the bedroom you were staying in.

You took a sip of your coffee before you answered him. "Day before yesterday." You said, smiling politely at him. "Name's [y/n]. Captain Rogers, yeah?"

He smiled back at you, stepping further into the kitchen. "Please, call me Steve." He said, leaning lightly against the counter. "I hear you're with SHIELD."

You nodded. "That's right."

"Well, we'll probably be seeing more of each other. Looks like I'll be here a couple weeks yet." He continued.

You smiled a bit more genuinely this time, pleased that Captain Rogers didn't seem to think you were in the way. Tony had originally been just a bit irked that you were taking up space in the lab where he would normally be working, but he stopped complaining about it when Pepper pointed out that you only used a very condensed corner. "Looking forward to it." You said. "But I've really got to get back to work now. Foreign security systems don't hack themselves!" You laughed lightly at your own joke (you were really only half joking, but whether you had or had not previously hacked the security systems of several small countries, and whether you had or had not accessed very important military secrets from those countries and given them to SHIELD to prevent global conflicts, and whether that was or was not precisely 'legal' was strictly confidential information) and straightened, moving smoothly back to the lab so as not to spill your coffee.

"Well…nice meeting you!" Steve called after you after getting over his momentary surprise about what exactly you might be doing in the lab. You definitely seemed easier to deal with than Tony, who was the only other computer genius he'd really gotten to know, and you seemed nice. He stood from where he was leaning against the counter, and looked into finding something to eat as he thought to himself that he really wouldn't mind getting to know you more.

—-

Several days passed before the two of you saw each other again, which wasn't especially unusual. He'd been going about his business and you about yours. What was unusual was how differently you were carrying yourself. You seemed to be moving a little more slowly, and when you turned to look at him when you came into the kitchen, your smile seemed a little pinched, faint shadows under your eyes making your face look thinner and older.

"'Morning, Steve." You greeted cheerfully. You'd worked straight through the night, only thinking to come up and refuel after the rosy rays of morning had come through the window and spilled onto the floor.

"Late night?" He asked, moving so you could reach the coffee maker.

You yawned and nodded. "Mhmm. Project's taking longer than I thought it would." You poured yourself a cup of coffee, not bothering to sweeten it before taking a sip, allowing the bitterness to help you become more alert.

"Well, I was about to make some breakfast, if you want some eggs or something.

You let out a soft noise of dissent and shook your head. When you got stressed and involved in a new project, your appetite wasn't especially strong. It wasn't your healthiest habit, but it wasn't a big deal. You rarely ended up fainting.

You were almost out the door, your short break over, when you heard Steve's voice. "Getting back to it?"

You turned around, leaning against the door frame. "Yup." You said, the smile you offered him a little tired.

He looked at you for a moment, seeming like he was trying to think of the way to phrase what he meant. "Maybe try and turn in early tonight."

You laughed a little. "I'll think about it. See ya later, Cap'." You gave him a short wave before leaving the room, soon ending up back in the lab. The sterile lighting, although it hurt your eyes a little, was comforting in its familiarity, and your screen flickered back to life as you approached. "Thanks, JARVIS." You spoke to the empty room, settling back in to work.

—-

Steve was starting to get a little worried. It had been days, and he'd spend most of his spare time hanging out in the kitchen. Not _waiting_ for you, per se, but there was something about you that he couldn't get enough of, and it seemed like the only place he ever saw you was the kitchen when you came in for coffee. It was possible that you'd been up and about while he was out, but the more time he spent in the kitchen, the less likely it was starting to seem that your paths just coincidentally hadn't crossed. Which, in his mind, meant that he might have to take some initiative. It seemed like the best choice would be to come bearing gifts, in case the reason he hadn't seen you was that you didn't want to see him, a thought that had briefly crossed his mind, so he took a moment to make you a sandwich before heading down to the lab. He rapped lightly on the door frame when he arrived, and poked his head in when he didn't receive a response. There you were, in the corner where it looked like you'd been for quite some time, shoulders slightly hunched, staring at a screen with characters moving across it so quickly that Steve realized he didn't have much of a chance of reading them, and probably wouldn't understand them even if he _could_ read them. His brow furrowed in slight confusion at the fact that you hadn't even acknowledged him. Had you heard him knock? "[y/n]?" He asked, a bit louder than conversation volume.

Your fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard a moment more before you stopped and turned around, the heel of one hand moving to rub the remaining imprints of numbers and code out of your eye. "Oh. Steve. Hey." You said, blinking hard and taking a moment to try and remember how to communicate with actual people. You hadn't been sleeping much, and had spent so much time in front of this computer and occasionally asking JARVIS when you needed something that the thought of talking with someone else seemed a little daunting. But Steve seemed friendly enough, and you leaned slightly forward in your seat when you turned to face him.

Steve's confusion ebbed, but his concern did not. He was looking you over with an eye used to deciding if a soldier was set for battle, and you didn't look so good. You were a little too pale, a bit slumped over, and there was a glassy look in your eyes that came from not quite being able to focus. The dark circles under your eyes were still there, and darker than he remembered. "Hey." He said, giving you a small smile, glad that you didn't seem upset with him, at least. "Haven't seen you around, so I figured I'd bring you a snack."

You didn't realize how hungry you were until you saw that sandwich, and your stomach gurgled as if pleased to be acknowledged. "Thanks." You said, a little sheepishly, and started into the sandwich like you hadn't eaten in days. To be honest, that wasn't an improper diagnosis.

Your enthusiasm didn't go unnoticed. "Whoa, careful. Don't choke or anything." Steve said with a chuckle, mostly joking. You tried to slow down, and he laughed again. That certainly wasn't making him worry any less, and he pulled up a chair. "Think you could use a break." He said, turning the chair around backward so he could lean his folded arms against its back.

You smiled slightly, more thankful for the company than you had expected. You'd been working on this project for days with almost no breaks, and a couple minutes off now couldn't hurt. "You're probably right." You said, pulling your water bottle from the desk and taking a drink to wash down part of your sandwich.

The two of you chatted for a while, laughing and getting to know each other, and he left after an hour that felt much shorter than that. After, he said he'd let you get back to work and said goodbye, but told himself that he'd keep a closer eye on you. If you didn't start to look a little better in the very near future, he was going to have to intervene. You were a SHIELD agent, and you could obviously take care of yourself, but everyone needed a little help some time.

—-

He only waited until the next evening to come back and see you, partially out of concern, and partially because he was really getting to enjoy your company. It was just before dinner time, and he had every intention of asking you to come up to the kitchen to eat with him. "Hey, [y/n], how's it going?" He asked as he walked into the lab, stopping for a moment when he saw that you were slumped over your desk, arms folded under your head, everything you were working on seeming to have come to a stop. "[y/n]?" He asked, a little more quietly, before approaching. As he got closer, it became apparent that you'd fallen asleep at your desk. He gave a short sigh. You were bound to crash eventually, carrying on like he expected you were, but that didn't make it any less upsetting.

He put a hand gently on your shoulder and you startled, sitting up with a groggy "What?" The pen you'd fallen asleep on had left an imprint on your cheek, and under any other circumstances, Steve might have laughed at that. "I think you need some sleep, [y/n]." He said, shifting to be sure you were looking him in the eye.

You glanced at your screen and then back to him, about to protest before a mighty yawn interrupted your train of thought. You sighed then. "You're probably right." You said, still not all the way awake. You stood and stumbled, legs clumsy from tiredness and an extended period of sitting, and he moved toward you to help. You held up a hand. "I got it, Cap'. Don't worry."

He gave you a wry smile, but didn't say aloud that he couldn't help but worry about you in this state. "Just get some rest, okay?" He said, escorting you to the door.

"Yeah, yeah." You said, waving an affectionately dismissive hand at him and shuffling back toward the room you were using. You turned back toward him for a moment, realizing that, as you two hadn't known each other very long, he might not understand that you were genuinely grateful for his concern. "Thanks, though. I appreciate it."

You said, meeting his eyes. He nodded. "Any time." His smile widened, glad that you were finally getting the rest you needed and that you didn't seem to think he was being overbearing. "And…maybe once you wake up again you'd want to go for breakfast? With me?" He glanced at the ground before meeting your eyes again, a little more shy this time.

You ran a hand through your hair, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I'd like that. It's a date."


End file.
